We want to connect more deeply with our members, so we have changed the look and feel of Making Waves. Surfrider will be delivering you up-to-date information the first Tuesday of every month. We want you to see how much your membership and donations mean to us. Your membership is enabling us to support our chapters’ work and achieve victories across the country.

Virtually every piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists in some shape or form. When these plastics enter our marine environments, they wreak havoc killing millions of birds and animals annually. In response to this problem, the Surfrider Foundation and Teva present Rise Above Plastics Month and have set a goal to clean up 1,000 square feet of plastic pollution from our environment. Find out how you can get involved!

The Inertia is breathing new life into the story of Martin’s Beach by releasing “Martin’s 5: Battle For The Beach,” an eight-minute film highlighting Surfrider’s campaign to keep the beach open to the public for everyone’s enjoyment and use. The right to beach access is constantly being challenged by private property owners and developers who would like to lock up slices of the coast just for themselves. Across the country, Surfrider is standing up for your right to access the beach. Join the fight.

Driven by emerging uses of the ocean such as wave and wind energy, the Surfrider Foundation is conducting several new and groundbreaking ocean recreation studies across the country to inform ocean planning. Ocean planners are seeking this information to develop plans that will protect existing uses of the ocean while finding space for new ones. Take the Mid-Atlantic Coastal and Ocean Recreation Survey if you use the ocean anywhere between NY and VA.

Urban runoff is the #1 source of ocean pollution. So what’s a solution? Planting Ocean Friendly Gardens to help prevent and utilize runoff. Learn more about Surfrider’s OFG efforts in the 2012 annual report.

Watch this inspiring story of dedication and determination as volunteers commit to removing 6 tons of debris from an Oregon beach. When some people turned their back to the issue, Surfrider Foundation's Newport Chapter volunteers stepped up to the plate.

The Surfrider Foundation’s South Orange County Chapter was the first to act when the City of Dana Point unlawfully erected locked gates and prohibited beach access during daylight hours at Headlands Reserve. Their most recent success came when the California Supreme Court rejected the City of Dana Point’s petition for review. This means that the appellate court's decision in favor of beach access will stand. Surfrider will keep fighting until the gates are open and full access is restored.

The Oahu Chapter joined with other organizations to become the second county in Hawaii to ban smoking at all its public parks and beaches! The ban is part of a statewide effort to reduce cigarette-butt litter and the laws will take effect on January 1, 2014.

The Texas Upper Coast Chapter hosted a rally to raise awareness about two unsafe houses that have been on the public beach since 1998 after Tropical Storm Claudette. The houses are not only unstable, but they also pose health and safety hazards and are in violation of the City Code of Surfside Beach. The chapter has decided 14+ years is too long for these structures to continue shedding debris on their coast and are hopeful that through public pressure, action will be taken to remove these structures.

ZeeBerry’s new Ride The Wave bracelet makes the perfect eco-friendly accessory. Not only will it compliment any look, but 20% of its price goes to Surfrider. Enjoy 10% off site-wide with the coupon code: SURFRIDER0313.